Coastal communities rally to support victims of horrific attack

The horror that unfolded off the Old Head of Kinsale as the Lusitania began to sink after being crippled by a German torpedo can only be compared in the history of this century with what happened in New York on 9/11 when two passenger jets were flown into the Twin Towers in a terorist attack that shocked the world, writes Ray Ryan.

As was the case in Manhattan in 2001, people were trapped on the luxury ocean liner. Some jumped for their lives from the skyscaper ship or leaped into the sea. Some died from injuries sustained on their way down. Others disappeared and drowned. There were also survivors with memories that haunted many of them for the rest of their lives.

Boats of all descriptions rushed to the scene, after Lusitania’s radio officer Bob Leith kept sending out SOS radio messages, just as the firefighters of New York responded 86 years later with little concern for their own safety. Some of the craft didn’t even have motor power. Yet, they put to sea fully aware of the risks they faced from German submarines.